Acupuncture device with improved needle guide tube

Abstract

An acupuncture device consists of an acupuncture needle and a guide tube having a transverse, preferably V-shaped, slot through the tube wall. This slot is formed in the upper part of the guide tube and is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the tube. The handle of the needle is firmly secured inside the guide tube by a small elongated stopper made of an elastic material such as plastic or thick paper which is inserted into the V-shaped slot of the guide tube and squeezes the needle handle between its end and the inner wall of the tube opposite to the V-shaped slot. As the elastic stopper fits tightly into the V-shaped slot, it supports itself in the needle-securing position. Although the friction that the stopper creates through its pressure against the handle is sufficient to secure the needle inside the tube prior to the insertion, this friction yields to the downward motion of the needle during insertion so that the stopper does not present an obstacle for the insertion of the needle. After insertion of the needle, a practitioner pulls the stopper out and removes the guide tube in a conventional manner.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.